Chaconne
by Araslan
Summary: The forces of destiny continue to drive forwards, cycle after cycle. Though the notes may be different, their echoes remains the same. Even if no one can hear the music, the music will never die. In Kurikae, one girl's wish drags her world into a labyrinth of music, magic, and madness. A tragedy featuring magical girls and classical music.
1. Chapter 1: Twenty-Four

**Author's Note:**

**You thought I was dead? Well too bad, I've been composing stuff. :p**

**For me, this fic is a guilty pleasure to indulge my writing. I've got the whole thing planned out, though the execution may be suspect.**

**Before you ask, PI/TLCW is dead. Plans are pretty dead in the water as well for that.**

**Few warnings I guess for future stuff if I ever finish this: there may/will be/are descriptions of child abuse, depression, and assorted tangents regarding music.**

**For this chapter: a warning for description of classical music.**

**Scroll down to the end notes for a list of recommended listening for this chapter - pieces specifically played/referenced in a chapter are marked with bold + _italics_.**

**Hope y'all enjoy.**

* * *

**Chaconne**

**Chapter 1: Twenty-Four**

A spotlight extended its reach into the murky realm of the dimly-lit stage. Filling everything in sight with a warm glow, it revealed the small orchestra present within.

Its row of violas matched the slow ascent of the baton in front of them. Their more numerous counterparts to the opposite wing soon followed, mere milliseconds shorter, with the exception of their section's leaders.

All of them held their instruments with and without tension - to variant degrees, with divergent lessons learned, values taught, and methods used. So too did the cellos who were fortunate to not contend with balance upon their shoulders.

Cello bows readied, in parallel with the basses, with all their instruments against themselves - connected to the earth itself via end pins. It was an unfortunate fact of nature that larger string instruments such as their own would require something to maintain stability and prevent the frequently wooden floors of concert halls from being punctured repeatedly towards the middle of stage left, but it was their own reality to contend with.

As the baton descended, slid, and rose into a triangulate pattern, the violins and violas began to pluck quiet, single tones in unison and in response to each other - an introduction. The consequent phrase was joined by an assertive, flowing statement from the first violins with aggressive chords resulting from the combined forces of the second violins and violas - immediately following was a sudden transformation of the entire orchestra into a more intimate, subdued sound.

The orchestra sighed, dying away into motes of silence.

The eyes of the audience had their gazes caught by the soloist directly in front of the accompaniment. Her hair resembled a tapestry of darkened threads made of the spaces between stars - absolute in its unwavering expression, cold and unfeeling as it was in its stark darkness.

From that void, from every part of her own darkness, she created the stars themselves.

A slow lament, crying out from the depths of her soul into her fingers and into the world around her. Upon her instrument, she deigned to ask her companions:

"Why?"

An act of parts, like characters in a play. Grief and sorrow soon gave way to lush melodies, both interspersed with elements of its composer's virtuosity that made many who heard him question if he had made a pact with devil.

The man with Marfan's syndrome had never heard of such a thing, yet he decided to play along.

Echoes of his hands rang out in the final movement of the piece - a set of variations based around a playful theme. Glissando and upper octave notation in the theme and its first variation taxed the instrument to its very limits.

Tonalities shifted in the second variation with a switch to the theme's minor key. The dark sorrow of the opening movement made a reprise, though it truly embraced its role as an interlude between its preceding variations.

Arpeggios comprised the third variation. Every string was crossed, touched, and rapidly departed in mere instants. To the eyes of an onlooker, it was magic.

Soon, the conclusion of the piece had been reached, as both the soloist and the orchestra sprinted to a spirited and thrilling end.

The audience began to clap - enthusiasts and connoisseurs of classical music, parents of the performers, and the general public alike. A round of applause came - each entrance disparate, but slowly unifying the crowd's reserved commendment with the orchestra's subtle percussive tapping - until the thunderous choir slowly died away.

As the soloist bowed, the spotlights returned the stage to a land of dimly-lit shadows. The soloist began to return to their section.

_You did great._

Kana mouthed her words before rising from among the violins.

_Now…_

The spotlight dawned upon Kana Hitori alone, with a violin and bow in her hands.

* * *

A final chord rang out with all the bravado that Kana could muster. The piece had been among the man with Marfan's most recognizeable, if not his most famous. It was the last exercise of a grueling set of pieces that challenged the best violinists the world had ever seen.

It revolved around a simple theme - a catchy, though comparatively simple statement - that the devilish one had transformed into a set of variations. Each variation encapsulated the use of the most virtuosic techniques that its composer had at his disposal. Some even synthesized multiple techniques into a single variation that made legends strain under its demands.

Kana finally felt her heartbeat, pounding left and right without hesitation or delay. Adrenaline coursed through her body as she bowed, then faced her audience with the same thunderous applause that they had given to the previous soloist.

The lights began to gently brighten, its patrons basking in their previously muted light beginning to leave.

"Hey, Kana."

Kana turned around in her daze to see the violist she had earlier complimented.

"Yuki!"

Yuki stepped carefully but deliberately, stopping in front of her fellow soloist. "You did excellent, Kana. I was impressed that you played so well."

"I'm more impressed at how you did! It's hard imagining that you were able to play that so well! You really put a lot of emotion into that, Yuki!"

Both of the returned each other's smiles.

"Hey, you two!"

Kana and Yuki turned their eyes to see their mutual friend.

"Isako!" Kana beamed.

"Kinushi-san. It's a pleasure to see you here." A curt bow, or at least the closest she could come to making one while holding her viola and bow, came from Yuki. "Thank you for coming to our concert."

"Same for you two, and it was no problem. Both of you did great."

Isako paused, then continued. "You know I don't understand music too well, but I can respect your dedication."

A silent thumbs-up accompanied by a look of encouragement emboldened the two musicians.

"Thanks, Isako!"

"Thank you."

* * *

The three engaged in further talk - moving in and out of Kana's frantic schedule for the afternoon leading up to the performance, Yuki being stuck in traffic trying to get to the Civic Center, and Isako's encounter with a strange white cat.

—

"...so I didn't have a lot of time to get home. That's when I realized I forgot my phone..."

"Really?"

"...so I had to run back to get it…"

—

"...I was at the intersection near my house and there was someone who wouldn't move…"

"That sucks."

—

"...it was like…"

"Like?"

Isako gave thought for a second, trying to find the right words to say.

"...you know those magical girl anime? Where there's a cute mascot or something?"

"I'm sorry, I don't watch TV." Kana responded, slightly regretful.

"Neither do I." Yuki nodded.

"Mm. Anyways, it's like the cat's talking inside my head and asking - "Do you want to be a magical girl?" - or something like that."

Yuki gave her brief look, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"That sounds suspicious. Are you sure you're OK, Kinushi-san?"

"I'm just fine!"

"Do you need a focus test? Like, I ask 'how many fingers am I holding up', except we hope that you don't answer 'vanilla' or something." Kana teased.

"No!"

Isako gave a half-hearted protest to the two's prodding. The trio chuckled for a bit, to varying degrees, before continuing on with their conversations.

* * *

After a little while, the trio found their debate interjected in with a high voice from the side of the stage.

"Onee-chan!"

The trio turned to see another girl appear. Kana's eyes widened briefly, recognizing the voice.

"Shuuko-chan!"

Shuuko ran up to embrace Kana as Yuki and Isako looked at the two.

"I didn't know you had a little sister, Kana."

"That's a new one for me, too."

"Oh, quiet you!" Kana responded with mock indignation. "Well…"

She tailed off as Shuuko looked at Isako and Yuki innocently.

"Onee-chan is onee-chan. Onee-chan is Shuuko's onee-chan."

Isako and Yuki gave each other identical gazes, before looking at Kana.

"I teach her violin on Saturdays." Kana explained.

Yuki nodded. "Ah, that makes sense."

Isako pondered for a second.

"So that explains why you're always busy on Saturday?"

"Well, it's part of it." Kana began to elaborate. "Saturday has always the day I practice a lot. I'm either practicing, at a competition, or helping to teach other kids."

"I see." Isako nodded.

"Shuuko was impressed by onee-chan's violin today!"

The topic pivoted once more to that of the performance.

"Really? Thank you, Shuuko-chan." Kana patted her head softly.

"Well, I should be going. Tomorrow is Monday and I have a test tomorrow."

Yuki began to walk off the stage, waving to the trio, before positioning towards Kana.

"You did a fine job, Kana. I hope I see you tomorrow after school."

"Bye, Yuki!"

Kana and Isako talked for a little while longer as Shuuko tried playing Kana's violin. A fairly rough, though competent rendition of a humoresque, rang through the now mostly-empty concert hall.

Finally, Shuuko returned the violin, saying goodbye, leaving Kana and Isako alone.

The two began to walk off-stage towards where Kana's case was, as Isako said her farewells.

"See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!"

Kana smiled sadly as the door began to close, packing away her violin.

Soon, she departed as well, en route to the hospital.

* * *

Kurikae General Hospital was, for lack of a better word, old.

It wasn't old, at least under the connotation of being old, crumbling, and architecturally unsound. Rather, while the interiors of its buildings were periodically updated and refitted to fit more modern standards - once in the 1970s, another in the 1980s, and most recently, in the prosperous years between the dawn of the 1990s and the tumultuous downturn of the economy in its middle years - it held a general aura of weathered condition that stood the test of time.

To its north, numerous apartment complexes untouched by renovation stood, tall in their collective glory. The fever pitch of cheap credit left its mark, despite its sparse occupancy in its current state.

To the south, an abandoned graveyard of industry. Warehouses untouched for decades, half-constructed buildings more resembling grey-tinted skeletons of metal, and a pervasive sense of emptiness.

Kurikae had miraculously managed to weather the storm, but the damage had been done. While other cities such as Mitakihara had experienced near-miraculous recoveries and even entered a new period of growth, Kurikae's own rise had been practically extinguished by the economic disaster.

Residents began to leave. Crime became a sore issue, especially towards the abandoned south. The city managed to alleviate many of the new issues that arose, but found itself unable to maintain the condition of its previous state.

For that reason, it could only attempt to hope to hold onto its past, even as the city slowly recovered. Kurikae's dedicated population tried to protect as much as it could, but even with everything it could do, the relics of its halcyon years began to stagnate.

Dated was the hospital as Kana Hitori entered on a midsummer night.

* * *

There were screams coming from the ward. Kana knew its origin all too well, as she opened the doors.

The subsequent rooms lied unused, empty, their lights silenced. Only the room to the right had wisps of light emerging from a closed door.

"Anesthesia again?"

"It looks like it."

Murmurs that Kana could barely make out floated through the dry interior air.

Slowly, the various nurses and staff began to filter out, one by one. Soon, Kana could only hear a single voice, hoarse and raspy, speaking in the air.

She began to walk down the hall, hands trembling with her violin case in her hands. The screams lingered on her mind, before being forcefully dispelled. The lone figure that she had heard finally began to leave.

It was a foreign, yet familiar figure to Kana - she faintly recalled seeing him as a child once or twice, only for her to be whisked away soon afterwards.

He saw Kana, looked at her case, smiled sadly, and walked away.

In his eyes were strains of pity.

Their subject remained unclear.

* * *

"Mm…"

Kana rustled in the uncomfortable chair, cloaked in blankets and everything else she could muster. The weather outside was quite pleasant, yet the temperature set inside was cool to the point of being unbearable.

The hard chair didn't help matters to the sleep-deprived Kana.

At least she didn't have to go to school today.

_You can make her feel better_.

A white cat stared at her.

A white cat? It was definitely white, but Kana couldn't tell in her stupor.

Small, red eyes looked at her with something that resembled a smile. A tail, too?

"I'm dreaming, aren't I? This is your fault, Isako."

_I am here_.

"Wait, are you talking in my head?"

_I am._

Kana sighed. _I really am going crazy._

She rubbed her eyes. _So, who are you exactly?_

_I am Kyubey._

_And why are you here?_

_If you make a contract with me, I can grant you any wish._

Kana snifled. _What kind of contract?_

_Become a magical girl._

She almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Sure, she hadn't watched TV for years, but she at least vaguely remember seeing an anime series or two about magical girls. It was surreal, and it was all Isako's fault.

_Any wish?_

Kana began to seriously consider Kyubey's words.

_If you have the power, I can grant any wish._ Kyubey paused as its tail waved around. _And it seems that you have enough potential to grant your wish._

_I'll think about-_

Kana's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden series of beeps coming from the bedside beside her.

"...Mother?"

The moment her eyes awoke with sudden speed, she began to writhe in the hospital bed.

Kana tried to shield her eyes from the sight, only for her mother's voice to rise, with tortured drive behind it.

"Mother! Mother!"

It was too much to bear for Kana. It was one thing to cringe at the sound of someone in anguish - it was another for it to be paired with convulsions and writhing that shook Kana to her core.

"Mother!"

_You can relieve her pain._

Kyubey's voice returned as Kana's hands began to shake.

_You have the power in your hands._

Kana could nearly see Kyubey's face in the eye of her mind.

_Make a contract and become a magical girl._

Kana clenched her fist - the screaming had reached an apex.

"I wish that I could eliminate my mother's pain!"

The room filled with light, concentrated around Kana's whole being.

_Your wish has surpassed entropy._

* * *

**EDIT (8/13/19): Fleshed out + fixed the hospital description; minor edits**

**The pieces being played are both Paganini pieces: Sonata for Grand Viola (a viola/string orchestra arrangement) and Caprice No. 24. I'm glad to have had personal experience on the Sonata (played in the accompaniment last year in orchestra), but Caprice No. 24 is the famous one. You may recognize it as the theme to Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini or other sets of theme and variations using the theme.**

**Speaking of the Caprice, it is the namesake of this chapter. 'Twenty-Four' as a chapter title sounds nice I guess.**

**RECOMMENDED LISTENING:**

**_Sonata for Grand Viola - N. Paganini_**

**_Caprice No. 24 - N. Paganini_**

* * *

**I may be able to answer questions regarding clarification, and I'm open for feedback. Updates will either be very quick or very slow.**

**Thank you very much for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2: Softly Shall You Sleep

**Author's Note:**

**Less, yet more music.**

**Originally, I was going to use a different piece for the hospital scene, but I felt like the new one had better meaning.**

**I hope that I can get another chapter or two out before I come back from Japan. It would be a good start to the school year having got through at least Chapter 4.**

**No warnings this time, I guess. It's comparatively brief.**

**Recommended listening below in the end notes - pieces used/referenced in the chapter are marked in bold + _italics_.**

* * *

**Chaconne**

**Chapter 2: Softly Shall You Sleep**

A gentle spell sung, softly speaking without a single word through the tepid chilled air. It brought a degree of warmth to the room and beyond, further spreading into the hallway.

The nurses present for the night became entranced upon hearing the wonderous music that pricked their ears and drew their focus from the world.

—

Beauty of the highest order resounded from Kana's violin.

She was unsure if it even _was_ her violin. Her case lay still, untouched by Kana in her current form, with its sparse tags of ownership quietly guided by the room's air.

In her hands was a sight she hadn't seen for years: a replicate model of a legend's violin, owned by one of her former teachers and recreated to the most minute detail. Every blemish, every worn space within the varnish that had faded was tangible and there in plain sight.

Kana found her body surrounded by a ballgown, colored in light purple and flowing outwards. A heartbeat quickly and periodically tracked the similarly purple gem enshrined upon her upper chest. From where the gem came from, the violinist could only ascribe to magic.

She would apply the same sentiment to her music.

Kana had begun with a simple scale - G major, one of the easiest scales one could play on a violin. As she ascended then descended, the shrill sound of physical suffering began to subside, only to return once more in full force once the bow left the string.

It seemed that she would need more time.

The bow returned to the space above the violin.

_Mother, hear a suppliant child._

With a breath, a handful of opening bars began.

A violin transcription of a vocal line - it was more than manageable for Kana, but as she played, the lyrics that she had heard while listening to her mother play the piano rang throughout her head.

_Thou canst hear though from the wild._

The comforting aura seeped throughout the room - it seemed that even in the night that Kana had found herself in, the world around her sat still as her music rang.

To her own ears, a simple song that she had learned years ago created magic in front of her very eyes.

_Beneath thy guidance reconciled._

As the piece came to an end, Kana's arms began to slowly descend. A habit from performance, that she soon disregarded as she quickly moved to her mother's side.

She breathed, gently but quicker than a normal moment of piece, looking at her mother.

A check of pulse showed nothing abnormal. A slightly intrusive physical check for a heartbeat showed that her mother was indeed still alive and not dead.

Kana sighed, as she began to walk back towards the chair. She found the will to detransform, returning to the night clothes she had been wearing under the blankets.

Kyubey soon returned to the room, levitating until it perched near the window.

_In exchange for your wish, you have become a magical girl._

"So I'm a magical girl now, huh?"

Kana idly swung her legs back and forth. They fell in and out of sync, slowing diverging then converging at differing points.

"What _does_ that mean exactly?"

_With their powers, magical girls fight witches._

"Witches?"

_Witches feed on grief and despair. They spread it and create even more suffering. _

"That's terrible!"

_They reside in places called Labyrinths that are created by them. In order to stop witches, magical girls must defeat witches and collect their remains._

"What?"

_Those remains are known as Grief Seeds. Magical girls collect Grief every time they use their powers._

Kyubey's tail motioned towards Kana's chest, the purple gem embedded within. She looked at her own chest, fixated on the shimmering glow. _Magical girls must use Grief Seeds to drain Grief from their Soul Gems._

"I see."

The white tail slowed to a more passive pace. _It would be wise to seek out other magical girls to learn more. _

And the creature began to levitate once more.

_Unfortunately, it appears that I must leave. I have other matters to attend to._

"Wait, what-"

Kyubey disappeared down the hall, leaving Kana to ponder the new revelations.

"A magical girl, huh…"

She looked outside at the window and began to think. The moon gazed in the distance, dancing among the cloudless canvas of stars.

_If I can help people like Mother with my new powers…_

Kana slowly began to develop a smile.

_...then I'll be happy._

* * *

Another slog of a day.

Tired eyes looked up from their previous focus, a passage towards the bottom of a page. A sound reverberated across the school intercom. The end of another day.

_What a waste._

Did she even need to go to school? Why _did_ she need to learn about pointless crap that she wouldn't ever need to use?

She could live and mooch off of her family's wealth and they'd be fine with it. Her share of the family inheritance was massive, despite her status as the youngest of seven children.

One engineer. Two doctors with one being a personal physician to multiple members of the Diet. One golf champion and another two yet-to-be-specialized prodigies who excelled at anything they tried.

If anything, being the odd one out would have been something _new _for her parents.

Not that she lacked the ability.

Others could call out her utter waste of potential and talent - the underachieving, lazy ways that she had embraced.

But she had made up her mind.

_This is my path._

The brooding undercurrent swept through her face and through her body, reinforcing the steely look in her eyes.

No one else would really care, anyways.

"Hey!"

A voice from down the hall.

"Kyou!"

And as with every day she deigned to remember, her thoughts turned from herself to Chi Natsume.

—

"Today's the witch hunt."

"Mm."

"I did some scouting yesterday, and the witch doesn't look too strong."

"Mm."

"I would have gone by myself, but I figured that today's your day to get a Grief Seed."

"Mm."

"Kyou!"

A light, yet playful slap came from Chi's hand, striking Kyou's back. Kyou nearly choked, barely catching the other half of her sandwich as it descended before it could hit the ground in front of the bench the two sat upon.

"What the hell was that for?" Kyou demanded, trying to communicate with a muffled mouth full of bread.

"You weren't listening." Chi pointed out.

"Listening, schmistening..."

Kyou grumbled, though eventually pivoted towards Chi.

"Did you have lunch today, at least?" Chi asked, softening her voice.

"Of course not, you idiot."

Kyou downed the last of her sandwich as Chi sighed. "I can't change that about you, Kyou."

"I can't even change you."

Kyou continued. "You're pretty amazing, you know that? Nobody cares about me, not even my parents, and yet here you are, being one of the only people I know who actually cares about NEET losers."

Chi gave her a look. "You're not a loser! You're strong, and you're brave, and you're..."

She sighed, stretching her arms. "Yeah, yeah."

"In any case, that's a hell of a miracle."

The two shared a comfortable silence, before Chi looked to her watch.

"Ah, it's 4:30!"

"What, are we late?"

"No, but it's time to go."

Kyou yawned lazily, sliding further into the bench. "Aw, I don't want to get up. The bench is already warm."

"Come on, up you go."

Chi pulled at Kyou, who eventually obliged.

A confident tint to her gaze filled her eyes.

"Let's find a witch."

* * *

Chi had not been expecting someone else to be fighting the witch that she had saw yesterday.

Furthermore, she was completely unacquainted with the sight of a new magical girl being chased by familiars. Purple attire was an unfamilliar color she had seen during her time as a magical girl.

In an instant, honed instincts had taken over.

_This is new. We can deal with this._

"Kyou, help her out with the familiars."

"On it."

"I'll deal with the witch for now."

"Got it."

A wooden wheel of fire began to materialize in Kyou's hands, spinning and spinning without end. With a hold onto its hilt, Kyou gathered her strength and threw it at the familiars near the foreign magical girl.

"Take that!"

The familiars were hit in the blink of an eye, meeting a fiery demise within the frames of the magical wheel.

As Kyou descended down into her inferno, she met the gaze of the new magical girl.

"So, what's your name?"

—

Pain. Pain. Pain.

If it weren't for her violin, Kana wasn't sure if she would have survived long enough to see help arrive.

Wandering into a Witch's Labyrinth was terrifying. She had never seen anything like it in any of the memories she had of magical girls. Terrifying images that she failed to describe in words. Horrific creatures, holding knifes in their smiles with a wrongful substitution of teeth.

Nothing had been like it was described.

She tried to fight the - _familiars_, as the other two had called them, by playing her violin, and was quickly put on the defensive. She soon found herself swinging her violin, with it shattering in the teeth of one of the familiars.

She had been on the run for - _how long had it been_? - such a time that she felt like vomiting. She couldn't even summon the will to recreate her violin. She could only run, and run, and run.

Her dress had been torn, bloodied - her own body had been bruised and slashed at by the familiars repeatedly.

Nothing had gone to plan.

The images slowly burnt away, until they entered combustion with the inferno that currently surrounded her.

Amidst the flames, she saw another girl. Fire in her hands, her eyes, every part of her seemed to _fuel_ the very pyre that surrounded the two.

"So, what's your name?"

—

"Kana...Kana Hitori."

The magical girl in light purple spoke with labored breath. Kyou took brief notes on her condition.

_Lotta fatigue. Doesn't look like she can talk much right now. Definitely new. Looks like she's from around here, though…_

Kyou banished the thought. _I'll ask Chi later._

"You're a real mess, aren't you?"

_Understatement of the century or icebreaker?_

Kana kept breathing heavily. The fatigue was catching up.

_Well, that didn't work._ Kyou remarked to herself. _Shitty sense of humor, ain't it._

"Hey, you're a magical girl right?"

A nod.

"Where's your weapon?"

The girl began shaking - _trembling_, was Kyou's observation.

"Don't worry, I can handle the familiars."

One tried to get close, behind Kana. Kyou promptly threw her smaller wheel at it, destroying the familiar. "See?" Kyou said, unconcerned.

Kana began to shake more, before summoning a violin and bow.

"That's your weapon?" Kyou was surprised, but declined to laugh. "Must be pretty important for you. How _did_ you try to fight the witch?"

"I...I…" Kana trembled, before breaking into a sob. "I tried...to hit it...with my...violin…"

_Are you-_

"I...I just wanted...to find...other magical girls…"

_Oh._

Kyou awkwardly shuffled, bafflement turning to understanding.

_Well, that explains it then. That little bastard did it again, didn't he?_

"Calm down there. You didn't do anything wrong." Kyou began to talk. "While it was pretty stupid in my opinion to do that, I can kinda understand what you were thinking."

"It's a lesson for magical girls to learn in order to survive, and you've survived this, at least. That's commendable."

Kana sniffled, her tears slowly starting to slow. "T-thank you…"

Kyou waved. "Eh, it was nothing."

The fire soon slowed, the familiars failing to reappear.

"It looks like Chi took out the witch."

Kyou began to jump through the first wheel's charred remnants. "Come on, let's go see Chi."

With a moment of hesitation, Kana finally leaped, joining Kyou in their ascent through the wreckage.

* * *

Chi looked at the Grief Seed in her hands.

She examined the structure - a blackened emblem engraved in the form of a lattice. Together, four diamonds stood together as one, alternate with its left and right slightly grey and its top and bottom pitch-black.

The witch was, as Chi had herself noticed before, weaker than usual. It was as if it was unable to put up a real fight, that anything that Chi did, no matter how slight, benefited her and brought misfortune to the witch.

Chi vanquished her musing, as she saw Kyou ascending to meet her, soon followed by the unkempt new magical girl.

It looked like there would have to be a new recipient of the Grief Seed.

"The newbie's here."

Kyou was no worse for wear compared to how she had began. The same bored, somewhat tired expression lined her face as it normally did. It was lazy, but more attributable to the current state of inaction than habit.

The same thing couldn't be said about the newcomer.

Her transformation state had been torn to shreds, the ballgown in near-literal tatters and rags. Elements of dried blood from her legs to the left side of her face caked and dotted her visible body.

And from what she could see, the new magical girl's Soul Gem was swirling with black.

"T-thank you…"

A bow touched with hints of rigid stiffness came from the girl in the purple rags.

"Thank you very much!"

The burst was sudden, its intensity fading as fast as it had risen.

"It's alright." Chi gave a smile to try and defuse the atmosphere's tension. "After all, as a senior magical girl, it's our duty to help new ones get comfortable."

She shot a look at Kyou, who slowly tried to look away from the brief glance.

"Anyways," Chi returned to look at Kana, "what's your name?"

"M-my name is Kana Hitori."

_Hitori?_

A familiar name, though more in regards to local fame.

_Hey Kyou, does that name sound familiar?_

_Beats me. I was just about to ask you_.

Redirected to herself.

"Hitori, huh?" Chi began to parse her memories, before stumbling on one. "Do you play piano by any chance?"

"Oh, no no." Kana waved her hands, almost like it was an automatic response. "That would be my mother."

"Ah, I see."

The tension began to ease, as the two engaged in chit-chat.

* * *

"So you play the violin?"

"Yes, I do."

"It must be really important for you if it's the weapon you use as a magical girl."

"It is."

"Have you tried-"

Kana froze, her fingers beginning to quiver.

_Might want to stop there, it's a little sore._ Kyou advised through telepathy. _The familiars gave her hell._

_Thanks, Kyou._

Chi breathed, before rephrasing her question cut short.

"Why don't you try practicing with your violin?"

"Yes." She received a near-robotic response, but deigned to hear the tone behind it.

"It looks like you're more of a range magic type - a spellcaster would be accurate. Kyou's like that a little bit, too, but it's…"

Kana summoned a violin and bow. Before Chi could continue, she began to play.

—

_Useless._

The word repeated itself over and over again in Kana's mind as she ascended the rubble.

_You can't do anything by yourself._

The conversation with Chi - _the other girl_ \- felt filtered. It was as if it were in a haze, some kind of fever dream, that Chi spoke to her.

Maybe she was just part of her trying to tell her to-

"_...practicing with your violin?_"

On instinct, it appeared.

And as with instinct, her thoughts faded away.

—

A single note, followed by a kinetic rush capped off with another standalone note. Again, and again, and again, and again slightly shortened, the targets became higher and higher. Each path encapsulated in a near instant, a pure display of velocity.

What Chi saw was even more incredible.

Pure waves of concentrated magic, slicing through the air with each note that Kana stopped upon, towards the rubble of the witch's Labyrinth. The remaining fabric within the Labyrinth and in the wave's caught, and the wave kept moving in all of its power.

Chi looked on in awe. She understood what was going on - indeed, within her arm, the power that she could see bubbled within her.

But the sheer _effortlessness_ of the magic was what stunned her. Not a single shred of fear or nervousness could be seen in Kana's face.

Suddenly, Kana stopped. It seemed that her senses caught up to the visual scenery she had created, and the remaining magic that she had gathered quickly dissipated into the air.

Kyou whistled, as a wave made contact with ruins within the Labyrinth. A large explosion filled the background in all sound, sight, and feeling.

"Wow."

Chi shared the sentiment, though kept hers quiet, opting instead to stare in wonder at the beautiful patterns left behind.

"I can do that?" Kana whispered, in shock at the vision.

"That was a really powerful attack you just created. Just one of those waves you made could have taken out today's witch at least three of four times." Chi mused. "It seems like you have a lot of magical potential, Kana."

"Really?"

"Though," Chi paused for a second, "you're still new."

Now for the pitch.

"Tell you what, why don't we make a deal? If you help me and Kyou fight witches, then we'll teach you everything you need to know about being a magical girl."

"I-"

"We both have a lot of experience fighting witches - I've also helped other magical girls in the past get started."

Chi expected Kana to take time to consider - maybe there was mistrust, or maybe the presentation was rough again.

"I accept."

Kana bowed. "Thank you, Natsume-"

Another sigh, another series of hand waving.

"I told you, call me Chi. No need to be formal, we're all in this together."

Was there something else she had?

_The Grief Seed._

"Kana, before you leave, I want to give you this." Chi handed over the Grief Seed from the witch she had defeated. "This is a Grief Seed. Kyubey probably told you about these already, but to recap, we need to use these so we can cleanse our Soul Gems. Yours is pretty dirty right now, and since me and Kyou cleaned ours pretty recently, we've decided to give this to you."

"Thank you, Chi-san."

_That's not going to change, is it?_

Chi remarked to herself, then responded to Kana. "No worries. We'll split the spoils as we need to."

After Kana cleaned her Soul Gem, much to Kana's interest and wonder at the sight, she said her goodbyes, with the raid plan and Chi's contact information in mind.

* * *

A pair of dark blue eyes began to open.

Slowly, they glimpsed the sight of lights above their vision.

She felt no pain - it was almost like the memories were a dream.

A twitch began in her legs. Dread through anticipation filled her whole body.

Then pain shot straight through her, coursing once more. The absence of pain made its reappearance even more shocking and excruciating.

A scream filled the hospital room once more.

* * *

**EDIT (8/13/19): Fleshed out Kyou's introduction; made general edits to various places**

**The chapter title comes from Schubert's song _Death and the Maiden_, which he later reused for the musical basis of his 14th String Quartet, known commonly as "Death and the Maiden". He wrote the quartet towards the end of his life after a serious illness (generally ascribed to typhoid fever or tertiary-stage syphilis) made him realize his own mortality. The second movement is a set of theme and variations based on the original music of _Death and the Maiden_.**

**Speaking of Schubert, I opted to use the _other _famous Ave Maria in this chapter. Kana's quotations while playing it come from the (original English) text that the German lyrics are based from. The piece that Kana plays for Chi and Kyou is the opening section to Paganini's Caprice No. 5. No, there will not be this much Paganini thoughout the fic. There will be more variety.**

**I think.**

**RECOMMENDED LISTENING:**

**String Quartet No. 14 "Death and the Maiden" - F. Schubert**

**_Ellen's Chants: Ave Maria - F. Schubert_**

**_Caprice No. 5 - N. Paganini_**

**Eine Alpensinfonie - R. Strauss**

* * *

**I had a lot of fun writing Chi and Kyou interacting in this chapter. Chi's voice is a bit hard to write given her shifts in personality depending on the situation, but I did my best here.**

**Thank you very much for reading.**


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